The Nurse Practitioner Rating Form. Part I: Conceptual development and potential uses

Most research and evaluation studies of nurse practitioner practice have used data collection instruments developed for that specific study, choosing and defining variables of interest to them and developing ad hoc measurement instruments with psychometric properties that are largely unknown. The primary focus of such studies and the instruments used in them has been on activities related to the assessment and management of medical problems. Such focus in the early studies is understandable, since these are the activities that have been added to the traditional nursing functions to form the nurse practitioner role. However, the nursing components of the role, such as patient teaching and attention to patients' psychosocial needs, have not been adequately studied. The Nurse Practitioner Rating Form (NPRF) was designed specifically to measure both the medical and nursing components of the nurse practitioner role.